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Richard Grayson (Prime Earth)
Haly's Circus hid a dark secret, having been training assassins for the Court of Owls for decades. Unknown to the young acrobat, Grayson had been selected to become the newest Talon for the Court; being groomed to replace Alton Carver. Dick Grayson's parents were eventually killed by the mobster Tony Zucco on his mother's birthday , leaving the acrobat an orphan. Unable to work as an acrobat anymore, Grayson left the circus, unknowingly escaping his fate to become a Talon. Robin: Boy Wonder After being transferred to the Wayne Care Center, Bruce Wayne would occasionally check up on Grayson and help him out. While Grayson seemed to be recovering well from the tragedy, he would actually sneak out at night in order to conduct his own investigation into the whereabouts of Tony Zucco. Grayson would encounter Batman at various times.Batman aided Grayson due to the fact that they both share a similar tragedy. Eventually, Batman brought Grayson to the Batcave and shared his identity as Bruce Wayne. Wayne then offers to help Grayson bring in Tony Zucco, a notion that Alfred Pennyworth was reluctant to accept. Grayson accepted Wayne's offer and Wayne began training him. Wayne trained Grayson over a period of a few months After initially having trouble accepting a name, he finally settled on Robin, a reference to an adoration his mother had for the bird.. One night, Batman was tracking the Assassin Lady Shiva. Batman was taken by surprise and poisoned by Lady Shiva which spurred Grayson to make his first appearance as Robin and battle Shiva. Grayson was no match for Lady Shiva and she stated that she was unimpressed with the "bat-boy".Lady Shiva withdrew, telling Grayson to come to her when he feels he wants to improve his skills and move out of the "shadow of the bat." . Grayson initially had trouble with being in the field as Robin, Batman's strict and overprotective personality made Grayson feel that he was not truely contributing as a partner. However, this changes after an encounter with Tusk. Grayson proves himself to be a valuable partner and gains Batman's trust . At some point, Grayson met and partnered up with Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl. The two would meet numerous times and formed a close relationship with with each other . Though both had feelings for the other, and both knew that the other had such feelings, the relationship never went any further . Grayson would take on many foes and criminals of Gotham, The Joker and Harley Quinn being two such examples, during his tenure as robin. On His Own Years later, Grayson and his mentor had an argument , resulting in Dick leaving Bruce's side and taking up a new identity as Nightwing. Nightwing eventually left Gotham, occasionally returning to mentor Robin, Red Robin and further train Batgirl . During this period, Grayson would form friendships with Green Arrow's protege Speedy, as well as a romantic relationship with the alien princess, Koriand'r (Starfire). Becoming Batman Batman was apparently killed by Darkseid. As Batman's disappearance became known to Gotham, the criminals began running rampant . It was also during this time that Grayson became aware of Damian Wayne's existence. Grayson accepted the role as Batman for Bruce's sake, and took Damian on as his Robin . They would form a close bond while working with each other as they took on Doctor Hurt and other criminals until Bruce's return . Traps and Trapezes Dick returned to his identity as Nightwing, leaving Bruce Wayne to be the Batman once more. After his return, Haly's Circus came to Gotham for the first time since Grayson's parents were murdered. In his civilian identity, Grayson was attacked by an assassin named Saiko who insisted that Grayson was the fiercest killer in Gotham. Saiko tortured C.C. Haly for information on Nightwing's secret identity, and the old man died in Grayson's arms after telling the former Flying Grayson that the circus holds a terrible secret. Dick inherited the deed to the circus from Haly and soon began a relationship with his childhood friend, acrobat Raya Vestri. Following Haly's clues, Dick found a mysterious Book of Names in the circus that held Grayson's own name on the last page. The circus announced they will be doing a memorial show on the anniversary of the night Grayson's parents were murdered, and, during the show, Saiko detonated an explosive inside the tent. While fighting the assassin, Nightwing discovered Saiko's secret identity - Raymond McCreary, a childhood friend of his, who had also been using Dick's girlfriend Raya as an accomplice. Unable to save him, Saiko plummeted to his death in his battle with Nightwing, and Raya turned herself in, seeing that her plan to destroy Haly's had failed. Night of the Owls Nightwing received Alfred's message, which conveyed the forty people the Court of Owls targeted for assassination. He went to save Mayor Sebastian Hady and came face-to-face with a Talon. Using lethal force on the undead zombie Talon, Nightwing stabbed him across the eye with his escrima stick, slowing the assassin's healing factor. However, another Talon named William Cobb, who Batman had revealed to Nightwing was Dick's revived great-grandfather, attacked Nightwing and stabbed him in the chest. Nightwing then tricked Cobb into Gotham's train tunnels, where the hero was able to freeze him with a liquid nitrogen tub. Death of the Family A year after his disappearance, the Joker resurfaced in Gotham City, terrorizing the police and kidnapping Alfred. Realizing he was simply revisiting his past crimes, each with a sick twist, Bruce believed he could one-up the villain by bringing Grayson along to their meeting which seemed to set up the Joker's age-old crime of poisoning Gotham's water. Grayson was to keep guard of the water gate while Batman distracted the Joker. However, the Joker, having predicted this, killed the people he believed would have been poisoned anyway and detonated an explosion on the part of the bridge Nightwing guarded. The Joker apparently had deduced all the Bat Family's identities and planned a personal attack on each one. Grayson invited the other immediate Bat family members to confront Bruce on the secrets that Joker had suggested Batman had been keeping from them. Batman then admitted that, during Joker's first year of activity in Gotham, Batman found a Joker card in the Batcave, insinuating that the villain may have found entrance to their base of operation. Grayson, along with Batman's other allies, were disappointed Batman would keep such a secret from them but he wasn't able to dwell on it long. Returning to his circus, Grayson was mauled by his performers who had been exposed to Joker Venom. After being overwhelmed by them, Grayson passed out and was dragged to an underground cave by the Joker, himself. All of Batman's allies, beaten and gagged by the clown, were forced to take part in a makeshift feast scenario for Batman, where Joker announced he had cut off the entire Bat-families faces and put them on ice. He also urged Batman to kill the heroes that dragged him down, arguing that his true family was the villains he fights. Batman refused, but Joker, disappointed he couldn't break Batman's psyche, released Joker Gas, causing the Bat family to succumb to his insane control. The cut-off faces are revealed to be a ruse as each of Batman's apprentices pull off their bandages to reveal an insane smile on each of their faces. The Jokerized heroes began to fight each other, while Batman escaped and defeated the Joker. Hurt by Batman's distrust of them, all of Batman's allies refuse to meet at the Manor to check on Alfred's recovery. Batman Incorporated Second City In the aftermath of Joker's personal attack and Damian's death, Grayson was once mora at odds with his mentor. Finding out that Tony Zucco was alive, he relocates to Chicago in an effort to hunt him down. After relocating to Chicago,he would move in with two roommates. . Meanwhile, as Nightwing, he continued his hunt for Tony Zucco. Grayson finds himself having to elude Chicago law enforcement due to their strict no tolerance policy on vigilante-related actions. Trying to find a lead on Zucco's location, Grayson reluctantly enlists the help of Chicago's new super-villain,The Prankster. However, Grayson ends up battling the Prankster and his forces as they launch a siege on Chicago. With the city on lockdown, Grayson is forced to reluctantly team up with Zucco to take down the Prankster. In the aftermath of the siege, Tony Zucco turns himself to the police. Though Grayson succeeds in bringing his parent's killer to justice, he realizes his heart has changed and feels nothing but sadness. Grayson decides to stay in Chicago instead of moving back to Gotham. Setting Son While investigating recent thefts involving stealing Kanium, medicine used to hinder psychopathic tendencies, Nightwing encounters Marionette. As Nightwing tracks her down, Mad Hatter appears in Chicago, ready to take his "Alice" back. Though Nightwing assists Marionette in taking down Mad Hatter, he is doubled crossed and she steals Kanium that was used in the Mad Hatter's tea. Nightwing finds himself unable to pick up her trail and she gets away. Bent on revenge after being diagnosed with a fatal sickness that manifested after his first altercation with Nightwing and Batgirl, Spinebender arrives in Chicago. Spinebender attacks Nightwing by disguising himself and his allies as batgirl and taunting the hero on how he should be killed. Spinebender fails to kill Nightwing, and ends up killing himself instead. After the failed attempt on his life, Grayson assists his roommate in taking care of Jen, one of his neighbor's daughters. However, her parents are killed when Mr. Zsasz visits Chicago. Jen, after discovering his dual identities, asks Grayson to help her exact revenge on Zsasz. When Grayson denied being Nightwing, and therefor refused to help her, Jen stole his Escrima Sticks and went to confront Zsasz alone. Grayson, as Nightwing, goes out to rescue Jen as Zsasz attempts to kill her. After defeating Zsasz, Grayson works to help Jen move on after the death of her parents. After being informed she will live with her aunt, he then also informs Sonia that he will be in Gotham soon. . Forever Evil Shortly after the Crime Syndicate defeats the Justice League they capture Nightwing, and reveal his face and identity to the world, in order to threaten the hero community even further .After a failed escape attempt Grayson agrees to help Owlman betray the Syndicate , but their plan never gets into motion before the Crime Syndicate uses Dick for the Murder Machine, which can now only be stopped through his death. Later Batman, Catwoman and Lex Luthor are able to rescue him when Luthor stops Grayson’s heart for a few seconds to successfully both disarm the bomb and keep him alive . After they rescue the Justice League Owlman makes a last appearance telling them he wants them to win . Spyral In the wake of the collapse of the Crime Syndicate, Batman tests his former apprentice's will in a heated battle while briefing him on the organization, Spyral, and asks him to infiltrate Spyral as a double agent. He tells him the risks of taking the mission make makes him aware that he cannot let himself be known to anyone. Especially those close to him. Overcoming his mentor, Grayson reluctantly accepts the mission. Setting out into the world, Grayson begins taking down various terrorist plots, including those involving the "Fist of Cain". His actions attracts the attention of Spyral. They send Helena Bertenelli out to retrieve him. He is eventually enlisted into Spyral by the organization's mysterious leader, Mister Minos. After being teamed up with Helena, Grayson is ordered to find the different Organs of the Paragon Project. Through their search they encounter Midnighter on more than one occasion, who is also searching for the Paragon Project and tries to hinder Spyrals successes . When the mission to retrieve the Stomach brings them to Leicester they encounter a former T.H.E.Y. Agent, who stole the Stomach from the British Government. Though Grayson is against negotiating with Ashemoore, Helena as the senior Agent employs Ashemoore as a new Spyral doctor . Through the missions Dick also comes into contact with other Agents of Spyral and gets deeper into the organisation, all the while keeping in mind that he is undercover . Grayson finds out about the Nanite Robots, which even gets Bruce to admit that the mission could be more dangerous than they had previously thought . On their mission to retrieve the last Organ Helena and Richard encounter the Fist of Cain again . After initial problems and disagreements Midnighter allies with them and together they are able to destroy the terrorist attack the Fist of Cain had planned and retrieve the last Organ . Why the hunt for the Paragon Organs was important is finally revealed when Mr. Minos betrays Spyral. Grayson and Tiger are able to destroy Paragon and Mr. Minos is killed by Helena in the aftermath . Endgame During the events of Endgame, The Joker returned to terrorize Gotham and Batman for his ultimate trick. Grayson returned to Gotham in order to aid Batman. In order to deceive both the Joker and Batman's allies, Grayson donned a copy of Bruce's cowl and led the attack on the Joker in the heart of the city. When the Joker removed Batman's mask expecting to reveal Bruce's secret identity to everyone else, he instead found Dick Grayson. Grayson left Gotham before the revelation of Batman's death, and was not immediately made aware of the new Batman. Nemesis Grayson is sent on a mission to retrieve a Kryptonian amulet from a Spanish duchess with his new partner Agent 1. After they obtain it Grayson is contacted by Helena. She suspects Agent 1 is a traitor who has murdered numerous agents from other espionage groups. Grayson leaves his partner behind to get the amulet away safely. On his drop point he encounters Lex Luthor, who tells him that LexCorp has been involved with Spyral since the beginning. Losing his trust in Helena, he searches for Tiger and is able to save him from the real traitor. During the fight it becomes obvious to Grayson that Spyral knows even more than he thought and he is now fully convinced that it is time to go back to Gotham. | Powers = | Abilities = * : Before even being formally trained, Richard possessed limited skill in hand-to-hand combat. After being trained rigorously by Batman in martial arts , his skills impressed the likes of Lady Shiva and Midnighter when he engaged in combat with both adversaries. He has even been able to match his mentor. . * : As a result of his status as an agent of Spyral and being taught by Helena Bertinelli, Richard is proficient in the art of Espionage. * : Richard Grayson was a acrobatic prodigy who was part of the "Flying Graysons" act, who were well known for conducting acrobatic acts without a net. As a result of his skill, he garnered success for Haly's Circus . * : Due to his training with Batman, Richard is well versed in many melee weapons such as staffs , escrima sticks, and bladed weaponry such as swords . * : Trained by Batman, Richard is proficient in throwing objects. He has often thrown his escrima sticks to incapacitate his opponents. He has even done the same with the use of a gun. * : Being trained by the Dark Knight himself in various fields, Richard Grayson is shown to have a naturally high level of intelligence, though not as high as Batman's own. :* : Richard Grayson was taught in various fields by Batman and as a result, is a capable tactician. In addition to that, he is skilled in reading the body motions of others, using this skill to aid in defeating multiple armed opponents and anticipate an opponent's next move. :* : Taught by Alfred Pennyworth in acting, Richard Grayson is proficient in the art of disguise. He was able to pose as Joker in Arkham Asylum and occasionally poses as Batman whenever Bruce Wayne and Batman needed to be sighted at the same time. :* : Being trained by the World's Greatest Detective, Batman, Richard is known to be an excellent detective. :* :* :* * * | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = *'Spyral Implants': Due to being an Agent of Spyral, Richard Grayson has received various implants to better aid him in the field when he is on his missions. It seems that agents of Spyral typically have implants into them. . :*'Hypnos': Hypnos are implant that enable the user to hypnotize others. This was used by Richard, who already displayed mastery in it's power despite it normally taking years to master. However, it is revered as a dangerous implant in which can open a two-way brain scramble. :*'Identity Protection': This implants makes the user's face unable to be captured by surveillance cameras and a person's memory. *'Nightwing Suit': As Nightwing, Richard Grayson's costume was made up of sturdy but flexible material that not only suited his strength in speed and acrobatics, but also was durable enough to take bullets from machine guns. His former costume was a stylized red "wing" across his shoulders and extending to his hands, coloring his two middle fingers, over a black torso and legs. He also has gauntlets much like Batman's own suit. Nightwing's costume is tailored specifically to his unique style of crime-fighting. He also has variants of his costume in which one one his stylized red "wings" reach only to his shoulders, another to his wrists, and one in which has hip and finger stripes. In addition, he formerly owned a suit which was blue and yellow, and another that was an armored suit that sported a Bat Symbol, which is currently being used by Red Hood His suit houses various hidden compartments for his gadgetry such as smoke pellets, fire extinguishing pellets, wing-dings, and small bombs. The fingertips of the suit also enable him to use a needle in which can give chemical analysis and even sport lockpicks from his fingertips . :*'Nightwing's Domino Mask': As Nightwing, the domino mask is shaped just like his wing-dings. It has various capabilities such as being able to track the GPS coordinates of a cellphone, thermal vision, detect radio waves, and being capable of giving detailed analysis of scenes and fights. :*'Nightwing's Gauntlets': Hidden within secret compartments lies Nightwing's gadgetry, in which a great majority seems to be hidden. He has various gadgetry in his gauntlets such as binoculars and it is occasionally used to store his Escrima Sticks. His gauntlets can also shoot remote bombs, a sonic device with his ear dampeners, and a grapple line. *'EMP Mask': A highly advanced mask created by Lucius Fox, the mask is made of webbing that retracts light surrounding the wearer's head and artificially alters the appearance of someone's face. Richard has used it to sneak into Arkham Asylum and pose as Joker and used it again to gain information on Lady Shiva. | Transportation = *'Wingcycle': | Weapons = *'Escrima Sticks': Personalized by Richard himself, his Escrima sticks is a sleek black stick in which is made of very sturdy material. He also later upgraded it in which could emit electricity and shoot a grappling line , and even hold some smoke bombs. *'Wing Dings': | Notes = * Two issues that deal in the origins of Dick Grayson's emergence as Robin in the New 52 slightly differ. In Nightwing #0, Dick found out Bruce's identity as Batman on his own due to their similarities. However in Secret Origins #1, Dick is surprised to find Bruce Wayne is Batman. * Unlike his New Earth counterpart, Dick was only Robin for roughly a year before donning the mantle of Nightwing. | Trivia = * Out of all of Batman's allies, Joker despises Nightwing the most. | Recommended = | Links = }} Category:Robin Category:Sidekicks